The City of McAllen earns national recognition, ranking 20 in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2025-2026 Best Places to Live. McAllen joins six other Texas cities to round out the top 20: Pearland (3), League City (6), Leander (8), Flower Mound (14), Pflugerville (15) and Sugar Land (16). The annual ranking evaluates 250 cities across the United States based on affordability, job market strength, desirability and overall quality of…
Rio Grande Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce members Daniel Pizaña and Erika Mazzola, co-founders of Noah’s Ark LLC, earned the Community Choice and First Runner-Up honors at the Startup Texas Pitch Fest on Sept. 9. The integrated pet care platform supports lost pet recovery, wellness guidance, and community connections. Pizaña presented the company during the live pitch competition at the eBridge Center for Business and Commercialization. He joined founders from…
Plumbing and Pipefitting, a program new to Texas State Technical College’s Harlingen campus, recently welcomed its first cohort of students as the fall semester got underway. Among those students are Ricardo Cantu, David Martinez and Fernando Ochoa. Cantu, of Lyford, is pursuing a Plumbing and Pipefitting – Tradesman certificate of completion. He said his goal is to mirror the skill and expertise demonstrated by his instructors. “I want to learn…
The clock was ticking down over the summer to an Aug. 30 kickoff on the sports websites of the nascent UTRGV Vaqueros football program. A “T-minus” ticker was going until a Saturday evening kickoff under the summer lights of a converted soccer stadium in Edinburg. It was the UTRGV Vaqueros versus the Sul Ross State Lobos in the first ever college football game in Rio Grande Valley history. It was…
South Texas College Continuing Education is currently holding free Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, Basic Life Support and first aid classes with certification from the American Heart Association. Registration is now open to anyone in the community including health care professionals, police officers and community members who seek training that can help save lives in emergency situations. The free CPR courses are funded by a grant from Texas Mutual, which has been providing…
The International Museum of Art & Science invites families to celebrate the start of the school year at its annual Back to School Bash on Aug. 16 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The family-friendly event offers free admission and a full day of interactive learning, creativity and community connection. Back to School Bash, supported by McAllen Public Utility, H-E-B Helping Here and Wonderful Citrus, will feature hands-on art and…
Israel Vega is a nurse practitioner who dabbles in renovating classic Chevys and is a founding member of a Rio Grande Valley-based semi-pro soccer team. Since January, you can add co-owner of a Los Fresnos coffee shop to his portfolio. PJ’s Coffee is a shop he co-owns with his business partner and fellow Los Fresnos native, Adam Abrego. They wanted to create a sense-of-community kind of place where people could gather…
The City of McAllen held a ribbon cutting ceremony on July 16 for Camp McAllen, a first-of-its-kind public campground offering residents and visitors immersive outdoor experiences, right in the heart of the city. Located at 8701 N. 23rd Street, just north of Frontera Road, the 20-acre site includes fishing docks, kayak launches, an archery range, walking and biking trails, and group camping spaces. Mayor Javier Villalobos, city commissioners and city…
The Brownsville Community Corporation has launched a new Space Accelerator Program in collaboration with the Space Foundation to support local startups and businesses with ties to the growing space economy. Through a partnership with Cameron County, the eight-week accelerator will equip a cohort of 8-10 companies with the tools, mentorship and resources needed to scale their ventures. Participants will also learn how to apply for federal funding, like SBIR/STTR grants,…
Seth Naranjo quips that Harlingen has two types of businesses all over town – car washes and gyms. He made that observation even as he and his wife, Nikki Solis Naranjo, sat inside of a gym they recently opened in the city. The Goon House on South Sunshine 77 Strip in Harlingen is located within a sprawling plaza with a call center as a next-door neighbor. The gym sits back…